A letter sent to the Editor of the financial Times:
Dear Sir/Madam,
It is understandable that Albert Frère would want out, and the IPO route may be his only exit or his way of pressuring the majority shareholders, the Mohns family, to buy him out. If it should go to IPO, potential shareholders should stay right away, or ask for a very significant discount to the value.
This company is clearly not run in good governance fashion. It is a family business and will continue to be run as such, and outside shareholders will neither have a say nor have the sympathy of those running the company. After all, they don't want outside shareholders and have made that clear.
The next step will be that the matriarch's children will take over the running of the business, with no outside, independent selection process being undertaken. Will they really be the best people for the job, over and above all other potential candidates in the world? Unlikely!
If you are interested in good governance, the best place to stay with this IPO if it goes ahead is on the sidelines.
Onésimo Alvarez-Moro
See article:
Germany's Mohn media dynasty said on Friday it was "prepared" for an initial public offering of Bertelsmann, after the media giant's other big shareholder triggered an option to list his stake.
The decision by Belgian financier Albert Frère and his investment company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert to call for the flotation of its 25.1 per cent stake in 2007 caught Europe's largest media company by surprise.
See full Article (paid subscription required).
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